While the rest of the world was turning the name "Fukushima" into the butt of glow-in-the-dark jokes and the centerpiece of cautionary tales, musicians from Fukushima decided that giving support to folks who were having a hard time was a better use of their time. The result is a song called "I Love You & I Need You Fukushima". You can check it out here, along with a translation of the lyrics.

There have been a number of songs written by musicians from the Touhouku to come out after the disaster that are really touching. The Touhouku is a region that's pretty similar to somewhere like Idaho ranging into Montana in the US -- northern, kind of cold, with lots of forests, and the primary output is largely agricultural goods. I think it's really cool that folks are using this opportunity to flip around and show the world some of the good things about their home region. Another song to check out is Ie ni Kaerou, by Lawblow. All scenes in the video were shot in Ohfunata, a town that was badly damaged by the tsunami, in July 2011.